EWU residence hall honors Spokane Tribe | News

Title (Max 100 Characters)

Students at Eastern Washington University moved into a brand new residence hall this September, and now their home has an official name. Snyamncut Hall was named with help from the Spokane Tribe to honor the legacy of the Spokane people and their cultural influence in the area.

Snyanmncut, pronounced sen-yam-en-sut, is a Spokane Salish word meaning place of gathering. It is used to describe places of emotional attachment. EWU feels especially connected to the Spokane Tribe as the university sits in an area that was an annual summer gathering place for the tribe.

EWU worked alongside Elders with the Spokane Tribe's Language and Culture Education program to determine the name. The Elders toured the resident hall and met with the university to discuss the goals and philosophy of the residential life program to make sure that Snyanmcut was the right name.

“Eastern Washington University is an institution of education that values a broadened cultural perspective,” said Stacey Morgan Foster, vice president for Student Affairs at Eastern. “We are honored to name the new hall Snyamncut, and we are confident our students will appreciate its significance in contributing to their education.”

The first floor of Snyamncut Hall will feature an educational wall about the Spokane Tribe and the Salish language so that the 350 residents that call the building home will understand the context of its name.